Stone-lifter



(No Model.)

J. HENDERSON & F. MQGONAUGHY.

STONE LIFTER.

Patented July 23, 189-5.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICEQ JAMES HENDERSON AND FRANCIS MOCONAUGHY, OFSOMERVILLE, NEW

- JERSEY.

STONE-LIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 543,0]!7, dated July23, 1895.

Application filed June 23,1894:- Serial No. 515,538- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JAMES HENDERSON and FRANCIS MCCONAUGHY, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Somerville, in the county of Somerset andState of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Stone-Lifters, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a stone-lifter or lewis adapted to use in acircular hole.

Stone-lifters have heretofore been made with a central bolt widest atthe bottom and with two sides inclined or converging and the hole hasbeen made polygonal and wider at the bottom than at the top for thereception of the lewis, and in some instances an expansible bolt hasbeen made to pass into a circular hole, the lower end of the bolt beingconical and acting against a split cylinder to expand the same into thecircular hole.

In the present invention considerable time is saved because the hole inthe stone only requires to be drilled to the desired depth, and thelewisor stone-lifter acting all around within the hole is less liable tobreak out than those stone-lifters that only act at the opposite sidesor ends of the hole.

In our presentimprovement the central bolt is tapering and largest atthe lower end, and wedges are introduced intothe hole around thisconical or tapering bolt, and we prefer to employ four wedges, so thatthey take a .uniform bearing upon the stone, and the entire stone aroundthe hole would have to break away to allow the lewis to separate, thusobtaining greater strength in the stone-lifting device by thisconnection with the stone.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a section of the stone and an elevation ofthe central bolt with two of the wedges in position. Fig. 2 is asectional plan at the line a; w, and Fig. 3 is a detached view of one ofthe wedges.

The bolt B is preferably formed with an eye 0 at or near the upper end,through which passes a link A, that is adapted to receive a hook orother connecting device to the hoisting-tackle. A

The lower end of the bolt B is largest, the sides of such bolt beingconical or tapering, and the wedges D taper at about the same angle asthe exterior surface of the bolt B, and are preferably made withhook-shaped upper ends, as represented, and the exterior surfaces ofthese wedges are curved to correspond to the interior surface of thecircular hole that is drilled in the stone S for the reception of thelewis or stone-lifting device,

and the inner or back surfaces of the wedges correspond in shape to theexterior surfaces of the tapering portion of the bolt B.

It will now be understood that after a hole has been drilled in thestone of the proper size and depth the bolt B is inserted into the same,and the four wedges D are introduced around the bolt and they are tappedwith a hammer to cause them to take a proper bearing against the stone,and in consequence of the friction" against the stone being greater thanthe friction between the wedges and the central bolt, power applied tolift the stone by the central bolt will cause the wedges to hold firmlyto the stone and the lifting device cannot pull out of the stone unlessthe stone breaks away laterally and separates from the mass of stonethat is being lifted, and when the stone has been properly placed thelewis isseparated therefrom by .loosening the wedges separately andlifting them out from the circular hole previous to the removal of thebolt B. This can usually be effected by simply striking the upper end ofthe bolt B, as there is usually sufficientdistance between its lower endand the bottom of the hole for the bolt to drop and the wedges to beloosened by tapping on the bolt. The bolt and wedges are most easilymade and applied when the lower end of'such bolt isv square and the fiattapering sides are inclined or pyramidal.

We claim as our invention- The combination in a stone lifting device, ofa central bolt having an eye at the upper end to which the liftingdevice is applied, a

square lower end and sides tapering uniformly, four separate wedgesfitting against 7 the tapering sides of the bolt and adapted to fitwithin a uniformly circular hole drilled in the stone, substantially asset forth.

JAMES HENDERSON. [L. s] FRANCIS MCOONAUGHY. [L. s.]

Witnesses: 7

JAMES J. MEEHAN, WM. JONESJ

